false hope
Belief without foundation
False hope is expectation or optimism that has no reasonable basis—hope that will almost certainly lead to disappointment.
The phrase often describes encouragement that misleads: The doctor didn't want to give them false hope.
It can also name self-deception: I kept clinging to the false hope that she'd come back.
- wishful thinkingBelief shaped by desire
- pie in the skyUnrealistic hope or plan
- delusionStubbornly held false belief
- self-deceptionConvincing yourself of falsehoods
- disappointmentSadness from unmet expectations
broken dreams · futility · fool's errand · manipulation · castle in the air · longing · misjudgment · disillusionment · carrot · grasping at straws · chimera · silver lining · betrayal · led astray · denial · unattainable · house of cards · rationalization
- empty promiseslip service, broken vows, hot air, overpromising
- letdownsletdown, disappointment, anticlimax, dud, flop
- irrationalityirrationality, unreason, illogic, madness, insanity
- Unproven beliefssuperstition, delusion, wishful thinking, pipe dream, chimera
- cognitive biasesconfirmation bias, anchoring bias, negativity bias, framing effect, optimism bias
- deceptionslie, lies, lying, deceit, decoy
false hopedespair
Total absence of hope
hopelessness · pessimism · cynicism · fatalism · defeatism
false hopehopelessness
State without hope
despair · resignation · giving up · nihilism
hope, false, hopeful, hopeless, hoping, hopes, hoped, hopelessness, falsehood